The former Liverpool and Finland defender saw his team lose 2-1 to extend their current sequence to one win in the last nine Bundesliga matches.

Hyypia had guided Leverkusen into the Champions League this season but will now be replaced by interim coach Sascha Lewandowski.

Bayer Leverkusen chief executive officer Michael Schade said in a statement: "After a lot of thought and because of the ongoing crisis we reached the conclusion that a change at this point could help us urgently turn things around."